Maintenance Call (CL. RP.)

Scorpius was busy in his office managing restaurant funds when his alarm to inform him that it was 5 minutes before the last order went off. He stood abruptly and left his office, grabbing the black and gold apron from the hook hanging by the heavy mahogany door on the way out. As he tied the stiff fabric around his waist and prepared to enter the kitchen, he noticed someone standing at the entrance waiting for a seat. The man was tall, very tall, and had a gentle face, although Scorpius could see something lurking behind his seemingly kind eyes.

Scorpius walked over with a soft smile on his lips and ushered the man to a booth that could fit 4 people, knowing full well that it was a slow day, and not many people had come to his restaurant.

"Welcome to The Pincer. My name is Scorpius Antares, I own the place, and I am responsible for the old 3-star rating jumping to 4-stars. May I take your order?"

Scorpius smiled and took Tea's hand, shaking it with a firm grip. He nodded at Tea, before electing to sit down in the seat opposite. "Tea wants tea huh? Puff, get the finest tea we have. Thank you." Scorpius motioned to the kitchen while looking at a lady with vibrant red hair and clothes as white and pristine as newly fallen snow just before she disappeared into the kitchen. It had been awhile since Scorpius had interacted with any cult members other than his son since he broke up with his husband, and he mostly spent his time in the restaurant, cooking food and interacting with his favourite customers. "Well the business is coming along fine so far, the food is fresh, there have been little problems in general, and there is a steady flow of both new and old customers. I'd say business is doing great, all in all." Puff returned swiftly, with 2 cups of an aromatic and delicious smelling tea, the teapot for it, black porcelain with a stylized scorpion tail as the handle, some sugar in a small bowl and a small jug of milk before leaving again. Scorpius picked up the milk, hovering it above Tea's tea. "Sugar and milk for you, Tea?"

"Oh no no we're doing quite fine at the moment, but thank you for asking." Scorpius spoke clearly and with great diction, honed from his years training to be a king. He poured the milk in and let Tea put in their desired amount of sugar. As he prepared his own cup of tea, he whispered lowly,

"Tea... I know who you are. Everyone does. What you did, betraying us to the Puppeteers is not easily forgiven, you hurt a lot of people. But I'm sure you already have enough on your plate as is. I was one of the original members of the C.U.T, and even after that was disbanded I did a lot of personal research on the higher ups in this little cult. I know you're an empath, and I know that you have dark secrets lurking behind those kind eyes. I always believe in second chances, and I trust you one-hundred percent so I'm going to tell you something you've probably already picked up on."

The restaurant was completely empty now, the remaining customers having left the establishment and the employees in the kitchen washing up.

"I was married to my husband Rewind for a year, he recently broke up with me, leaving me to look after my adopted son Dylan alone. It's not raising Dylan that I'm worried about, but it has been very stressful for me recently."

He dug his pincer into the table, leaving a visible mark as he said this,

"I don't know what to do. I loved Rewind so much and he up and left me. I have nightmares about the most horrific things. I miss my home, my kingdom. I want to visit them but I can't leave Dylan alone and neither can I bring him along. I'm in a bad position right now, to the point where my three scorpions are in their human form almost round the clock now, trying their best to help me. I know I seem suave and cool and collected but really on the inside I'm broken, and I don't know if I can ever fix it. You're an empath, so you probably already picked all this up earlier and me telling you is probably not going to change much, but I think it is necessary."

Removing his pincer from the table, he lets it burst into flame, watching the teal fire flicker and die out slowly.

"I need your help."

Scorpius wasn't an empath, but he could clearly see the trauma in Tea's eyes at him mentioning the Puppeteers. It was obvious that Tea was filled with regret and guilt over it, and Scorpius felt bad over making Tea uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned the Puppeteers, but I wanted you to know that I always forgave you for what you did. What happened to you was tragic, getting suckered into them like that." He picked up his tea, sipping it slowly and cautiously, "I don't know what you can do to help, if I'm being completely honest. It's not like I need any financial help, I'm a king, I have all the money I need," another sip from the tea, "But if you could just help me with this... I would like you to help me keep my wedding ring safe." Scorpius pulled a small unassuming box from his pocket, sliding it across the table to Tea.

It had been a long time since Scorpius had shown that box to anyone, let alone that ring.

"Please, take the ring and whatever I do or say if I come to you... don't let me have it. I don't want to lie in bed crying anymore. I have a son to look after, not to mention an entire kingdom. If you need to contact me, the restaurant's phone number as well as my own are already written down on a slip of paper in the box."

Scorpius gripped his teacup more firmly, trembling slightly as he watched as the box with the ring within dissipated with the large hammer, giving a sad but thankful look to Tea for what he did. "Thank you, Tea. out of all the things they did, what the Puppeteers did to you was the most unforgivable one. They hurt you, and by extension all of us in the process."

Puff walked out of the kitchen, holding a fine dark oak box engraved with tea leaves surrounding a hammer in the middle.

"I got my employees to prepare a gift for you... if you want it," he takes the box from Puff and places it on the table in front of Tea, "Inside is a rose gold lapel pin in the shape of a scorpion and a small bottle of a special type of cream that should make your scars less... painful. They'll still be there but the flesh will be less tender. This is the least I can do for all the help you've given me so far... thank you."

In Scorpius' eyes, the Puppeteers were unforgivable, but Tea was already forgiven.

Scorpius smiled, finishing up his tea and pouring a little bit more. He was glad that Tea was safe, but couldn't see why he was shaking. Speaking softly, Scorpius asked, "Are you okay Tea? You really don't have to think too much about the gift. The cream is from a plant that you can only get in my kingdom, but it's abundant there, and the lapel pin is so that my people will recognize you and will respect you. If you ever need a place to vacation or relax or just want to visit me in my kingdom, just wear the pin and my citizens will take care of the rest."

Scorpius shook his head, watching his three employees go about their jobs, "If you see people who only communicate with each other through clicking, or a wave of scorpions attack you, those are my citizens. And Tea? I really cannot thank you enough for your help."

"I understand. Our leader can be a bit... controlling sometimes. At least that's what I gather from the few times I've met her. Would you like some food? Or more tea?" Scorpius gave Tea a small smile, holding up the teapot for him. "I do hope to meet up someday as well, you're always welcome here, if you want a drink or a chat. I'll usually be in the back office doing my usual management, but I'll always be up for a nice talk with you. Just say the word whenever you're nearby, okay?" He swished his tail around happily, feeling the huge weight of his past relationship with Rewjnd finally lift from him.